SK Rockaden

SK Rockaden is the biggest chess club in Sweden, founded 1921 at Södermalm in central Stockholm, where the club spent most of its first forty years. In 1961 the club moved to the southern suburb Högdalen and in 1993 to its present location in the southwestern suburb Hägerstensåsen. SK Rockaden currently has got more than 800 members.

Since the 1972/73 season SK Rockaden plays in the Swedish national premier league, Elitserien i schack,[1] and have won Elitserien and its predecessor Lag-SM (National Team Championship) 25 times since its inception in 1951: 1957–1959, 1980, 1982, 1984–1986, 1992–1998, 2001,[2] 2004,[3] 2005,[4] 2008,[5] 2009,[6] 2014,[7] 2016,[8] 2021,[9] 2023,[10] and 2024.[11]

SK Rockaden has represented Sweden 17 times in the European Club Cup, arranged by the European Chess Union: 1980/81, 1983/84, 1985/86, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000,[12] 2001,[13] 2005,[14] 2008,[15] 2014,[16] 2016,[17] 2022,[18] and 2023.[19] SK Rockaden reached the semifinal in 1986 and the quarter-final in 1993.

Since the 1980s SK Rockaden has been represented by, among others, Grandmasters Ulf Andersson, Lars Karlsson, Erik Blomqvist, Jaan Ehlvest, Vassily Ivanchuk, Eric Lobron, Peter Heine Nielsen, Viktorija Čmilytė, Jon Ludvig Hammer, Arturs Neiksans, Bartosz Socko, Johan Salomon and Jonas Buhl Bjerre as well as Internationell masters Jonas Barkhagen, Robert Bator, Roland Ekström, Thomas Engqvist, Christer Hartman, Erik Hedman, Emil Hermansson, Patrik Lyrberg, Anders Olsson, Jung Min Seo, Mats Sjöberg, Hampus Sörensen, Richard Wessman and Michael Wiedenkeller.

For example, when the club won the 2004 championship they included "Super GM" Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Eric Lobron, GM Ulf Andersson and GM Lars Karlsson. When they represented Sweden in the European Club Cup in 2005 their team consisted of one Grandmaster, five International Masters, and a FIDE Master.

Since the beginning of the 1980s SK Rockaden has been Sweden's leading club for junior players. The club has won the National Junior Team Championships Juniorallsvenskan (for players up to 20 years old) 17 times since its inception in 1987: 1990, 1992–1995, 1997–1998, 2005-2010, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2022.[20] The club has also won the National Cadet Team Championships Kadettallsvenskan (for players up to 16 years old) 20 times since its inception in 1987: 1987-1990, 1992, 1994–1998, 2000, 2003-2008, 2012-2013 and 2016.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Elitserien i schack"
  2. ^ "Elitserien 2000-01", Sveriges Schackförbund
  3. ^ "Elitserien 2003-04", Sveriges Schackförbund
  4. ^ "Elitserien 2004-05", Sveriges Schackförbund
  5. ^ "Elitserien 2007-08", Chess-Results 14 March 2008
  6. ^ "Elitserien 2008-09", Chess-Results 15 March 2009
  7. ^ "Elitserien 2013-14", Chess-Results 9 March 2014
  8. ^ “Elitserien 2015-16”, Sveriges Schackförbund
  9. ^ “Lag-SM 2021”, Sveriges Schackförbund
  10. ^ "Elitserien 2022-23", Sveriges Schackförbund
  11. ^ "Elitserien 2023-24", Sveriges Schackförbund
  12. ^ "16th European Club Cup 2000 Neum / Bosnia", Chess-Results 30 September 2000
  13. ^ "17th European Club Cup 2001 Chania / Greece", Chess-Results 30 September 2001
  14. ^ "21st European Club Cup 2005 St. Vincent, Aosta / Italy", Chess-Results 24 September 2005
  15. ^ "24th European Club Cup 2008 Halkidiki / Greece", Chess-Results 26 October 2008
  16. ^ "30th European Club Cup 2014 Bilbao / Spain" Archived 2014-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, 20 September 2014
  17. ^ "32nd European Club Cup 2016 Novi Sad / Serbia", Chess-Results 14 November 2016
  18. ^ "37th European Chess Club Cup 2022 Mayrhofen,Tyrol / Austria", Chess-Results
  19. ^ "38th European Chess Club Cup 2023 Durres / Albania", Chess-Results
  20. ^ “Juniorallsvenskan 2022”, Sveriges Schackförbund
  21. ^ “Kadettallsvenskan 2016”, Sveriges Schackförbund
  • SK Rockaden, Stockholm – Official homepage (in English and Swedish)